A six-year-old autistic girl tragically lost her life after being left behind on a school bus in sweltering conditions.
Childcare workers were responsible for the welfare of Winter Jones, 6, and transporting her to school after her parents dropped her off at Kid University in Memphis on August 13.
She was supposed to be taken to Macon-Hall Elementary School, but never arrived.
She was discovered unresponsive in a van parked outside the facility later that afternoon and was pronounced dead at the scene. Temperatures that day soared into the high 90s (around 36C), according to National Weather Service records reviewed by WMC.
Childcare workers Sabrina Powe, 43, and Tametria Norry, 49, have since been arrested and charged with aggravated child neglect, criminally negligent homicide, and destruction of and tampering with governmental records.
A third member of staff, Amilya Hardin, was also indicted in connection with the child’s death, reports Express US.
Norry has been identified as the van’s driver, while Powe served as assistant director of Kid University and Hardin worked as a daycare assistant.
Following the girl’s death, the Tennessee Department of Human Services launched a thorough investigation into Kid University, concluding that the facility had failed to meet numerous transportation safety requirements. Staff members reportedly neglected to follow correct vehicle inspection protocols after children had been dropped off, and the transport log was found to contain errors.
Authorities also confirmed that compulsory walk-throughs to ensure all children had left the vehicle were never conducted.
Winter’s mother, Nakia Cloman, received a telephone call from the daycare center after her daughter was discovered. One member of staff reportedly said: “Winter was left on the bus” and “she’s barely breathing.”
Her father described the ordeal as an “absolute nightmare”, attributing it to “people who were too busy doing nothing to where they couldn’t make sure Winter was taken care of properly.”